What happens if I ignore a default judgement against me

Asked Aug 16, 2010, 08:32 PM
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16 Answers

I received a letter from the state of Texas about a case pending on my name. It states if I fail to appear on the above date and time my case will be automatically "dismissed without prejudice for want of prosecution. Then soon after I received a letter that a default judgement was made a against me. What does this mean? And do I have to take any action?

What it means is that the plaintiff hadn't done anything with the case for a while, so the court (not the "state") threatened the plaintiff with dismissal unless something was done. So plaintiff moved for default judgment. Apparently you had been duly served some time ago?

what it means is that the plaintiff hadn't done anything with the case for a while, so the court (not the "state") threatened the plaintiff with dismissal unless something was done. So plaintiff moved for default judgment. Apparently you had been duly served some time ago?

First, something doesn't make sense here. If you were the defendant in the case, then there is no way it would be "dismissed without prejudice" if YOU don't show. What you may have gotten was a copy of a letter sent to the plaintiff. If they subsequently moved for a default judgment and you didn't appear, they would have been granted the judgment.

Armed with a judgment they could attach certain assets. They can't garnish your salary in Tx for unsecured debt, but since you didn't mention what you were being sued for, there are some debts that would allow a wage garnishment.

First, something doesn't make sense here. If you were the defendant in the case, then there is no way it would be "dismissed without prejudice" if YOU don't show. What you may have gotten was a copy of a letter sent to the plaintiff. If they subsequently moved for a default judgment and you didn't appear, they would have been granted the judgment.

Armed with a judgment they could attach certain assets. They can't garnish your salary in Tx for unsecured debt, but since you didn't mention what you were being sued for, there are some debts that would allow a wage garnishment.

OK, you had a leased vehicle and when you turned it in you were billed for mileage over the amount allowed by the lease. And you failed to pay that amount.

Might I ask why not? Is the suit correct? Have you tried working with the plaintiff to arrive at a mutually agreeable settlement?

The reason I didn't pay was because when my husband turned in the lease the car salesmen told him that they were going to waive the mileage overage. Then after we purchased another vehicle that same day from the same salesmen and signed the contract. The credit department called me a month later and told me I had to pay the mileage overage and that they weren't suppose to sale another vehicle till I paid the outstanding balance of 3,995 dollars. When I called the court precinct they said I was being sued for a vehicle I do not have. So what action can I take if any? Should I be worried about the postcard I got that says I have a default judgement against me?

So what action can I take if any? should I be worried about the postcard I got that says I have a default judgement against me?

Hello again, g:

I don't know what you're missing here. You have a judgment against you. They ARE going to seize your bank accounts. They're going to do that for 10 years and then they'll renew the judgment for another 10 years if they didn't collect it all the first time around.

That would worry me a bit. There's NOTHING you can do. You KNEW about the lawsuit. You did NOTHING to defend it. If there WAS anything you could have done, THAT was the time to do it.

There IS one other thing. You could call up the lawyer and try to settle. If you have around half the judgment amount in cash, I'll bet they'll accept that.

Agreed. The time to deal with this was when you were first notified. Of course, what probably happened is the salesman lied to you and will deny.

I'm assuming you got nothing in writing that they would waive the mileage overage. You then compounded the error by ignoring the summons. If you had fought the suit and gone to court and stated what you were told, the court might have accepted it, because this is typical when you purchase a vehicle from the same dealer.

But you didn't and now they have a judgment against you that they can use to attach your bank accounts. So you really should try and reach a settlement.

Agreed. The time to deal with this was when you were first notified. Of course, what probably happened is the salesman lied to you and will deny.

I'm assuming you got nothing in writing that they would waive the mileage overage. You then compounded the error by ignoring the summons. If you had fought the suit and gone to court and stated what you were told, the court might have accepted it, because this is typical when you purchase a vehicle from the same dealer.

But you didn't and now they have a judgment against you that they can use to attach your bank accounts. So you really should try and reach a settlement.

I don't know what you're missing here. You have a judgment against you. They ARE going to seize your bank accounts. They're going to do that for 10 years and then they'll renew the judgment for another 10 years if they didn't collect it all the first time around.

That would worry me a bit. There's NOTHING you can do. You KNEW about the lawsuit. You did NOTHING to defend it. If there WAS anything you could have done, THAT was the time to do it.

There IS one other thing. You could call up the lawyer and try to settle. If you have around half the judgment amount in cash, I'll bet they'll accept that.

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